1. Technical Field
The present principles relate to a beer pong related games and, more particularly, to a beer pong arcade game apparatus and methods of operation.
2. Description of the Related Art
The game of beer pong (also known as Beirut) is a popular party game, particularly among youths in college. Although there are many different variations of the game, the game typically involves two teams of two persons situated at opposite sides of a table. In front of each team is a collection of ten cups arranged in a bowling pin formation. The teams take turns shooting (i.e., tossing or bouncing) a ping pong ball with the goal of getting the ball into one of the cups at the opposite end of the table. Each time a player successfully gets a ball into a cup (“sinks” a cup), a player from the opposing team must drink the contents of that cup (which is usually alcohol, but does not have to be). If both members of a team successfully sink a cup on the same turn, then that team gets another turn to shoot (commonly referred to as “rollbacks”). The game typically ends when one team has made all ten cups. However, in some versions of the game, “rebuttal” rules will allow a team with no remaining cups an additional chance to sink the remaining cups of the opposing team and bring the game to overtime. Overtime consists of each team essentially starting a new game with only three cups. Overtime ends when one team has made all three cups and the opposing team fails to successfully “rebut”.
The growing popularity of this game during recent years has resulted in a number of patent filings for beer pong game systems and apparatuses.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,516,960 to Battiste discloses an inflatable beer pong table apparatus. Both the table and the legs are inflatable, allowing for the easy transportation of the table. The table has a number of recesses which are sized and shaped to hold a number of cups. It is further disclosed that the table includes a cover for concealing the recesses.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,325,807 to Eason discloses another beer pong table that contains recesses for holding cups. The recesses in the table may be outfitted with plastic inserts which include a lip that extends slightly over the top of the table to prevent beer from spilling into the recesses. The inserts can be removed from the recesses to allow for easy rinsing.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2007/0107460 by Webb discloses a cup holder for use in a beer pong game. The cup holder prevents cups from being knocked over during the game. It takes the form of a triangular tray which may include recesses for securing cups during the game of beer pong. Rubber or neoprene feet are located on the bottom of the tray to provide traction during use. It also includes a freezer pack which may be inserted into the tray for keeping the beverages in the cups cool.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0188942 by Trokan discloses a non-alcoholic beer pong game system. The system includes a plurality of colored beer pong balls having printed messages thereon. When a player successfully tosses a ball into one of the cups, a player from the opposing team must drink the contents of the cup and carry out the directions printed on the ball.
While prior art discloses a number of beer pong related gaming systems and apparatuses, the prior art fails to disclose the novel beer pong arcade game of the present invention.